House Of The Rising Son
by Bubblegum Kisses
Summary: Six years on after Joshua's birth and the fire, the lives of the Winchesters are back on track. But a horrifying sense of dejavu cloads over thier happy lives. Truths will out, personal demons will resurface and all under the watchfull eye of young Joshua
1. Chapter 1

House Of The Rising Son

**THEME: Drama, Angst, and Supernatural, AU.**

**RATING: M**

**DISCLAIMERS: I don't own Supernatural or its characters. Lola, Maggie, Joshua and Matt are original characters created by Bubblegumthai and myself.**

**Chapter One**

Maggie made her way up the stairs, a laundry basket tucked under her arm. As she reached the landing she swung the container full of folded clothes round to her front, stepping into Joshua's bedroom. The pictures of teddy bears replaced by planets and stars on the light blue walls. Joshua was lying front ways on his bed, his legs kicking up in the air as he flicked through a comic book.

"Hey sweetie." Maggie said, rustling his hair playfully as she walked passed the six year old. She set the basket down on the floor and began to move items from the container to the chest of draws she stood before. As she did so, she looked up to see a photo of her and Matt with Joshua on his shoulders at a beach. She paused for a second, looking at the happy family that she missed so much.

"Its okay Mommy, you'll see Daddy again one day." Joshua spoke sweetly, causing Maggie to turn around.

"What's that honey?" She replied with a smile, moving over to her son's bed.

"You said that you wished you could see Matt again." They boy answered.

"I didn't say anything Joshy."

"No…but you were thinking it."

Maggie's smile was wiped from her face as soon as she heard those disturbing words. She darted out of Josh's room and ran into her room, picking up the phone from her bedside cabinet, she frantically dialled.

"Sam…its Maggie…its Josh…I think its started."

Raising his fist, Sam knocked loudly on the heavy wooden door, just below the gold number three that was screwed to the centre, just below the spy-hole. As he heard footsteps approaching, he dusted back some of his shaggy brown hair from his green eyes, only to have it flip back into place. Exasperated, he blew at the strands just as the door was pulled open. He stopped, his bottom lip jutted out to direct his breath upwards to his hair, and moved his eyes slowly to see Lola standing in the doorway watching him,

"Hello Sam…" She laughed softly, stepping to the side to let him in,

"It's my hair." Sam said as she looked at him with amusement, "It's in my eyes."

"Cut it." She said, shutting the door behind him and wandering off across the large open living room in her track-pants and tight tank-top, "Dean…Sam's here…"

Sam followed Lola towards the kitchen and as he moved passed the couch, he discovered his brother standing on his head, legs crossed up in he air, his palms pressed firmly against a emerald green yoga mat,

"What are you doing?" Sam snorted,

"It's for my blood pressure." Dean stated, going slightly red in the face,

"Is it working?"

"No."  
"Sam…come and have a beer…" Lola called from the kitchen, "I wouldn't distract him if I were you…last time I did that, he broke three toes."

"Ouch." Sam cringed as he wandered to the kitchen, taking a seat at the breakfast bar, "So how're you doing, Lola?"

"Fine…" Lola replied, eyeing him cautiously,

"It's good to see you back in Philadelphia."

"Thanks." Lola smiled slightly before there was a loud thump, followed by a few quiet curse words, "There he goes…" Lola breathed, shaking her head as she reached up, tying back her straitened auburn hair a top of her head, "He's not the most graceful of men."

Dean appeared in the kitchen, stretching as he did so,

"Can I have a beer?" He asked, pulling open the fridge,

"Nope. Have some water."

"Sammy has a beer."  
"Sam's healthy." Lola replied, "Go sit down in the lounge." She told them, ushering out of the kitchen, "I've got to make lunch. Sam, you hungry?"

"No, thanks." Sam smiled, heading for the couch and dropping down beside his brother. Dean leant back in his seat, placing his feet carefully on the glass coffee table,

"What's up?" He asked Sam. Sam took a sip of his beer,

"It's Maggie."

"…oh."

"Dean, she needs us."

"Maggie does not need me." Dean said matter-of-factly, "In fact…I can guarantee that she doesn't want me anywhere near her or Joshua."

"Dude…it's about Joshua."

"Why?" Dean asked, "What's happened?"

Sam took in a deep breath,

"You remember that fire in his nursery?"

"Yeah…"

"There's something I need to tell you about it."

"What?"

"We think that he's a psychic like me. Or at least…he has powers like Maggie and me."

Dean blinked, swallowing hard,

"How long have you known?" He asked quietly,

"Since that night."

"AND YOU DIDN'T TELL ME?!" Dean fumed, standing up and whirling on his brother, "You neglected to tell me our nephew is part of the same demon army you were supposed to be?"

"We didn't know for sure!" Sam said seriously, "And we thought we had a good twenty three years or so."

"Well clearly you don't!" Dean snapped,

"What's all the yelling about?" Lola asked, carrying a bowl, "You've gone red in the face…you'd better sit down!" She sighed, placing the bowl down on the coffee table for Dean who eyed it with contempt,

"Sam's just told me some news."

"What?"

"Go on Sam…give Lola the family news letter!" Dean remarked icily. Sam sighed,

"Joshua's showing signs of psychic abilities."

"Oh…" Lola trailed off, "That's not good."

"No it's not." Sam agreed, "We need to head down there. She needs us."  
"Of course."

"Well you two can go." Dean said grumpily, "I'm not going."

"Dean! You have to!" Sam growled, "She's our sister."

"I'm not welcome there."

"Dean…" Lola began,

"No. I'm not going. End of." He huffed, digging a fork into the faded mustard-yellow grains of couscous, scowling at it,

"Dude…you have to forget what happened. This is bigger than your arguments and your dislike for another. This is about Joshua."

"Sam's right." Lola agreed as she headed back to the kitchen. She re-emerged carrying a burger before sitting down in the plush black arm-chair beside the sofa,

"You might as well drop this conversation. You're not going to change my mind." Dean grumbled stubbornly. Sam rolled his eyes,

"What're you eating?" He finally asked,

"Couscous." Dean huffed, looking down at it sadly. He placed it down on the coffee table and rubbed at his face with exhaustion. Sam watched on as his white gold wedding band caught the sunlight from the window,

"What's up?" Lola asked, about to take a bite out of her burger,

"I'm thirsty." He rasped,

"Well I did tell you to have some water…" Lola sighed as she stood, making a show of going back to the kitchen. As soon as she was out of sight, Dean leant forwards and snatched Lola's burger, taking a hungry bite out of it before shovelling in a couple of fork-fulls of couscous. Sam watched on, mortified,

"You actually eat that stuff?"

"I do if I want pie tonight."

"Is that code?" Sam laughed,

"No…I mean actual pie."

"What has your life become?" Sam asked, shaking his head as Lola appeared, handing him a bottle of water,

"Hey…what happened to my burger?" She asked, noting the bite taken out of it,

"It was Sam." Dean answered quickly,

"Sam…I asked if you were hungry." She said softly, "Did you want something?"

"No thanks…I'm fine…that one bite really filled me up."

"Right…okay…" Lola sighed, lounging back into the softness,

"Dean," Sam began, "you have to come to Boston with me."

"I'm not going to Maggie's place with you. If that's all you came for then perhaps you should leave."

Lola looked up, shocked. Sam looked to her for support as Dean stood and stalked off to the bedroom, slamming the door closed behind him. Lola smiled weakly at her brother-in-law and leant forwards, touching his arm reassuringly,

"Don't worry Sam." She soothed, "I'll talk him round."

"Are you going to be able to…?" He asked with uncertainty, "I mean…he's pretty determined not to go."

"I have a lot of power." Lola smirked, patting his shoulder as they stood, walking to the door,

"It's really important. Maggie…she needs us. She's all by herself up there."

Lola nodded,

"I know. We'll be there. I guarantee."

The next afternoon, Dean's old black Impala rolled up in front of a large red-brick town house complete with white-picket fence and long driveway. Dean huffed, slamming his hands down on the steering wheel,

"I cant believe you talked me into this." He muttered, glancing sideways at his wife who grinned back at him,

"Listen you…" She warned, placing her index finger to the tip of his nose, "If you don't behave yourself I'll take away your driving privileges."

"You can't do that! This is my car!"

"I can do what I want. I'm the wife."

"You make my life hell." He joked as he watched her get out of the car. She walked around and leant down, leaning her face through the open window,

"Come on you." She chuckled, "I'll make it up to you."

"Is that a promise?" He asked hopefully,

"It is if you promise to just stay calm at Maggie's place."

Dean sulked before stepping out of the car, tossing his keys over his shoulder. She caught them with a confused frown. He looked over his shoulder and smirked,

"You'd better have them now," He said, "that's a promise I know I can't keep…and besides…you're just jealous. You've got it out for me because you don't have your truck anymore!"

"Hey!" Lola whined, "Leave my poor hunk of scrap alone. I'd be able to buy a new one if someone didn't keep spending our money on ammunition."  
"It's a vital purchase!"

"No…it's not when we already have it."

"What about the widescreen TV?"

"We needed a new TV!" Dean exclaimed, disappearing slowly up the path of the house, his black shirt unbuttoned at the top, the sleeves loosely rolled up his forearms, untucked from his faded and worn blue jeans. Lola rolled her eyes, turning to lock the car up.

Dean leant heavily on the doorbell before looking around the wooden-clad front porch curiously. The door was opened quickly by a tall blonde with smooth blonde shoulder-length hair and wide brown eyes,

"Dean!" She beamed, leaning forwards to hug him, "It's been so long!" She gushed, "What've you been up to?"

Dean shrugged, returning the hug a little awkwardly,

"Uhm…the usual…Sammy around?"

"Yeah…come in…I think he's just finishing packing some stuff up."

"Awesome. I'll wait here."

"Come in," She cooed, motioning for him to come in, "is Lola with you?"

"Yeah…" Dean said, pointing over his shoulder to Lola who was making her way up the path in her jeans and camisole,

"Lola!" She called, waving above her head,

"Hey Charlotte." Lola smiled as she stepped inside the door,

"Go on up Dean." Charlotte told Dean as she linked arms with Lola, leading her to the kitchen, "Sangria?" She offered,

"I can't…I might be driving."

"Dean's letting you drive?"

"Possibly."

"So how're you doing?"

"I'm okay…a little nervous though."

"About Maggie…?" Charlotte asked sympathetically, "Do you think she's still mad at you?"  
"How could she not be?"

"You did the right thing, Lola."

"I know but Maggie was my best friend and I feel like I betrayed her…but I was forced to take a side and I had to pick my husband…even if our marriage was almost at an end then." She said with a shrug. Charlotte nodded,

"I would've done the same thing."

"What're you two talking about?" Sam asked as he and Dean hung around in the kitchen doorway,

"Nothing." Both women answered together,

"Nothing at all." Lola added with a smile, "Ready to rock and roll?"  
"Yep. Let's get going before it gets dark." Sam agreed, placing his bag down on the floor and walking forwards, wrapping his arms around Charlotte's waist, "Right…be careful…I'll call you when we get there and remember what I said," He paused, "stay with your mom, okay?"

"Okay…" Charlotte soothed, "Though I don't see why I should have to."  
"Just…do it Charlie." Sam said seriously, "It's important for me…just…for my peace of mind…"

"Okay. I promise I'll go tonight."

"Thank you." He smiled, leaning forwards and placing his lips to hers, "I love you." He said honestly,

"I love you too! I'm going to miss you Sam." She sighed, "Come home soon."

"I'll try."

"Oh quit the sickening display will you…?" Dean teased,

"Ha" Sam laughed sarcastically, "Coming from you…being on the road with you two was a nightmare! The amount of nights I spent in hotel rooms by myself while you two…"

"Okay…yeah…we get it." Lola jumped in, "Let's get going…c'mon Sam!"


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

The engine of the black Impala rumbled as it pulled up outside the white terrace house. Sprinklers spitting water in alternate directions onto the front garden. A blue and black football and red and silver push bike with stabilizers lay on its side littered the freshly mown grass.

Sam lead the way up the cobblestone path that run strait through the lawn and up to the porch. He stepped up the mahogany coloured decking and knocked on the white wooden door.

"Josh come down here and eat your lunch!" Sam heard a muffled voice call from inside. Maggie opened the door, her brunet curls blew back as a the cool breeze hit her face as she opened the door.

"Sam." She beamed, draping the tea towel she was holding, over her shoulder to give her brother a hug.

"Hey Maggie." He smiled, wrapping his arms around her, "How are you doing?" He asked with concern pulling out of the hug, but keeping his hands on her arms.

"Okay." She said with a sigh smiling weakly, "Josh hasn't really said anything…out of the ordinary since that day but there's still just something about him." She looked over Sam's shoulder and waved to Lola who was strolling up the path, "Hey!" She smiled, but her smile disappeared as Dean emerged from behind Lola.

"What is he doing here?" She growled, her eyes narrowing at Sam, pulling away from his grip.

"I thought he should be here, Josh is his nephew too." Sam reasoned.

"He lost that privilege when he crashed that car." She spat angrily. Lola took in a breath, stepping up to stand beside Sam

"Maggie…please…" She begged, "Let's not start this. We're family after all." She said firmly, "We're here to help."

"I don't want his help." Maggie replied simply, "And I don't want yours either if you're going to take side again."

"Maggie…" Sam warned,

"I've got to get Josh's lunch." Maggie muttered, turning and walking back through the house. She left the door open and Sam followed, looking back at Lola desperately. The twenty-eight-year-old ran her hands soothingly through her hair before turning to regard her husband who was stood beside his car. She sighed, walking back down the path to him,

"I knew this would happen." He said softly as she placed her arms loosely around his shoulders,

"Sam and I will sort it out." She reassured. Dean shook his head, pulling out of her arms,

"There's nothing you're going to be able to do Lola. We should head home."

"No. No Dean." Lola said firmly, "I'm not giving up on them. This isn't about you and Maggie anyway. It's about Joshua." She snapped, "C'mon. You're coming in with me."

"Lola…I'm not welcome." He whined as she grabbed his hand, leading him up the path and into the kitchen where Joshua was sat at the table, Maggie buzzing around the room, preparing his lunch. Sam was following her around, pleading with her to listen to him. She looked up as Dean and Lola entered, rolling her eyes,

"You can get out…" She muttered, slamming a drawer shut, "Get out of my house."

"Maggie…" Lola and Sam began together as Maggie placed a plate with a sandwich in front of Joshua,

"Please…" Sam begged, "We're here to help you Maggie…we came all this way. You want my help…you've gotta accept Dean's help as well."

"Ditto." Lola agreed, "Don't make us walk away."

"Because you're both good at that. Why break a habit of a lifetime, eh Lola?"

Lola raised her eyebrows, about to rise to the challenge but Dean placed his hand soothingly on her arm,

"I'll go." He said softly, "You guys stay. Maggie's right…I don't have a right to be here…but I care about what happens to Joshua so for him, I'll go." He said sadly, leaning forwards and placing a kiss on Lola's cheek, "Give me a call a little later, yeah? I'll head back to the hotel."

The room fell into silence as Dean trudged out, leaving Lola and Sam behind. As the front door clicked shut, Lola turned angry eyes on Maggie,

"What the hell is your problem?!" She fumed, slamming her hands down firmly on the kitchen table top,

"Hey Josh…why don't we go watch some cartoons?" He asked, picking his nephew up and walking off to the living room with him, shutting the door behind him with his foot. Lola was still staring at Maggie, breathing heavily, waiting for an answer from her old friend,

"Well?!" She exclaimed, "What is your problem Maggie?!"

"He took Joshua's father out of his life, so why should he be a part of it? How dare he take Matt away and then try to replace him."

"Dean's not trying to replace Matt…" Lola soothed, "He really isn't."

"It was Dean's fault!" Maggie sobbed, leaning on the back of a chair for support, "It was Dean's fault. He was driving the car that night!"

"What did you want to happen? Matt to drive after having five beers? Dean did the right thing. It wasn't his fault that other guy was drinking and went into them!" Lola replied, tears welling in her eyes,

"No…he just left Matt in the car to die!" Maggie snapped, "He left him in that car and when it blew it took my Matt with it!"

"He was injured Maggie! He went to get help! He broke his arm in that accident and fractured his ribs!"

"Oh poor Dean! Somehow he always manages to get away with a few injuries! You must feel so special, Lola…blessed even that your husband came home that night!"

Lola shook her head,

"It wasn't Dean's fault."

"You weren't there! You're so blinded by my brother you don't see him for who he really is!"

"We loved Matt!" Lola said firmly, "You know that it was an accident and I can't even imagine what it would feel like to lose my husband…but Dean's your brother. Your brother, Maggie!"

"No Lola…"

"Maggie," Lola began sternly, moving towards Maggie, "we've been through this tragedy as a family."

"How can you say that? The three of you all down in Philadelphia living your happy little perfect lives!"

"You know Dean punished himself for that accident!" Lola growled, "He practically drank himself to death!"

"Good…then you would've known what it feels like!"

Lola quickly drew her hand back and slapped Maggie across the face hard,

"How dare you?!" Lola screamed, tears rolling down her cheeks, red in the face, "How dare you say that?" She asked, Maggie staring at her in stunned silence, "I know it was hard for you Maggie, but you had an obligation to your son to hold it together and you did, but you wonder why I had to leave you alone? I had to support Dean…I didn't want to take sides, Maggie…because I love you to pieces, but you forced me to choose to look after you or save my husband's life…it was a no-brainer. That accident almost cost me my marriage and my husband's life and I know that's nothing compared to what you endured Maggie…but you need to stop being so selfish. I know you want to blame someone but Dean isn't the person to blame for Matt's death."

"You hit me…" Maggie mumbled, holding her cheek in pain,

"I know, I'm sorry!" Lola sobbed, "But you really hurt me with that comment."

"I…" Maggie sighed heavily, "I'm sorry Lola…but…I just miss him so much." She whimpered. Lola smiled sadly, wrapping her arms tightly around Maggie as she buried her face in the crook of her neck. After standing together like that for a few minutes, Maggie finally drew in a long breath, "Go and get him…just…don't expect me to bend over backwards to be nice to him."

Lola leant back, holding her at arms length, smiling,

"Thank you." She said softly, "I appreciate it." She added, backing away and heading out the front door, pulling her phone out of her pocket as she did, though she soon slid it back in when she noticed the Impala still sitting by the mail box. She sauntered up and tapped gently on the window, her heart melting as he looked up at her with bleary and glassy eyes, red from crying.

Maggie walked to the living room, pausing at the door, wiping the tears from her cheeks and fixing the eyeliner that had smudged under her eyes. With a sniff she put on her dealing with it smile, the smile she often put on for Josh when really, deep down she was struggling to keep it together.

"Hey how are my two favourite boys doing?" She smiled, walking over to Sam and Josh who were sitting on the floor in front of the television.

"We're good, we're watching the Lion King." Sam answered looking up at his sister.

"Wow, this is Mommy's favourite isn't it Josh." Maggie replied, sitting herself down next to her son pulling him onto her lap.

"Is Uncle Dean coming in to watch it?" Josh asked, looking round at his mum. Maggie looked down at the hopeful blue eyes and sighed.

"Yeah, he's just getting his things from the car." She answered before looking at Sam. He looked at her and smiled weakly, relieved that things were improving so that Dean could at least come into the house.

"Hey Joshy." Dean called from the doorway of the living room, placing his bag onto the floor before gently rolling up the sleeves of his kaki green shirt.

"Uncle Dean!" Josh beamed, jumping off Maggie's lap and running into the arms of his uncle. He launched Josh above his head before balancing him on his hip. "How you doing buddy." He smiled, "You been a good boy for your mom?"

"Yeah."

"Good man, high five." He said, holding up a hand in the air, Josh slapped his small hand onto his uncles large palm, before Dean set him down back onto the floor. Lola came up behind him carrying a large suitcase, Josh ducked between Dean's legs and threw himself at her. "Whoa hey Josh." She chuckled, as she bent down and was nearly knocked over by the tight hug.

Dean looked at Maggie with an awkward hug as she walked towards him, hands in the pockets of her dark blue jeans. "You can stay in the spare room, if Sam doesn't mind sleeping in Josh's room." She suggested.

"He doesn't." Josh answered, making everyone stop and look at him with concerned faces.

"Its okay, I know you're all scared but there's nothing to be scared of." He added, before skipping back to his spot in front of the TV.

The three grown ups looked on, worried and shocked by what their little Josh had just said.

Later on that evening Lola, Dean and Sam were sat round the large dining table in the kitchen, the orange glow of the sunset shone through the wooden blinds in the window.

"This doesn't make sense, we killed that yellow eyed son of a bitch, why is this happening all over again." Dean asked before taking a sip from the large blue coffee cup he was drinking from.

"Maybe he wasn't the only major player that was looking to start this war." Lola suggested, pulling a leg up to her chest resting her arm on her knee.

"Well what ever he wants he's going to have to get through us first." Sam added with certainty. Just then they heard two sets of footsteps coming down the carpeted stairs.

Josh came into the kitchen, barefoot in his light blue pyjama's with cloud pattern. Maggie followed behind him, a basket full of dirty laundry in her hands.

"Okay baby say good night to everybody." She said setting the basket down in front of the washing machine.

"Okay." Josh agreed, walking up to Lola first, who turned round in her seat and bent down to give him a hug, "Night Aunty Lola."

"Goodnight Joshy." She said sweetly, holding him tightly for a few seconds before he moved on to Dean, "Night night Uncle Dean." He said with a yawn, holding his arms up for another hug.

"Night kiddo". He said, lifting his nephew up, squeezing him tight then setting him down again.

"Mommy can Uncle Sam read me a bed time story?" He asked turning to Maggie.

"If Uncle Sam doesn't mind." She replied softly.

"I'd love to." Sam said with a smile, before hoisting him up into his arms. "Say goodnight to your Mommy." He added, leaning Josh over to give Maggie a kiss.

"Night baby." She said, stroking his hair as Sam turned and headed up the stairs, Josh lulling his head sleepily on his shoulder.

Sam pushed the door open with one hand, the other holding a sleepy Josh to his chest. He slowly moved over to his bed and laid him down on it, pulling the star covered duvet over him.

"Uncle Sam." Josh spoke quietly.

"Yes Josh." He replied with a smile.

"You and me are going to fight in a war someday aren't we?"

"Someday." Sam mused.

"We're going to fight and we're going to win." The boy continued.

"That's right, you, me and your Uncle Dean."

"No not Uncle Dean."

"What do you mean?" Sam asked with a confused frown.

"Uncle Dean isn't going to be around for much longer."

Sam's face fell, deeply disturbed by what he was hearing.

"Why's that Josh?" He asked sternly.

"Because he's going to die."

Sam swallowed hard, "Who's going to kill him Josh?"

"I am." Josh answered plainly. Sam felt his whole body go cold he stared back at the sweet innocent face of his nephew, it couldn't be true, how could it. Josh closed his eyes and nestled himself down into his cover. Sam stood up and backed out of the room, he looked back at Josh, fear and sadness started to stir inside. How were they going to help him? He had had a chance to fight his destiny he was so much stronger. Josh was only six; his mind would be so much easier to change, on either side. He just had made sure that it would be changed by the ones who loved him and not by a relentless evil.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

Dean excused himself to the bathroom and as soon as he left the room, Maggie slid into his seat beside Lola. She took her hands gently, looking Lola in the face,

"How're you doing?" She asked gently,

"I'm fine." Lola replied with a smile,

"I do worry about you." Maggie admitted, "I mean…you and Dean, you've always had a really turbulent relationship and I often think about you."  
"I'm sorry it's been so long, Maggie." Lola admitted, "I think six months is the longest we've ever been apart since we met."

Maggie smirked,

"That's true…I missed you a lot."

"I missed you too!" Lola beamed,

"What've you been up to?"

"Same old…same old…"

"Sam mentioned you'd gotten into modelling again."

Lola shrugged,

"I'm getting a little old for that sort of thing, honestly." She sighed, "I did a little for a special one off, it paid well and we needed the money at the time."

"Lola, you're twenty eight."

"I'm getting old!" She wailed,

"You're hardly over the hill." Maggie rolled her eyes, "Not like me."

"Oh please…" Lola huffed, "You look amazing!"

Maggie chose not to answer as Lola toyed with a silver bracelet around her wrist,

"Sooooo…" She began slyly, "When am I going to have a playmate for Josh?"

Lola's eyes flicked up quickly before back down to her pale wrists,

"If that's a round about way of asking when I'm going to have a baby…" She warned. Maggie held her hands up in defeat, leaning back in her seat,

"Okay…point taken!" She giggled, "You'd make a great mom."

"Maggie…I swear to God…" Lola warned, pointing a finger at her friend,

"I'm sorry…I guess I'm just trying to take my mind off of other things."

Lola smiled weakly,

"Everything'll be fine. I have complete faith in Sam and Dean. In the last seven years, I've never had a problem that they haven't solved."

"Not to be rude, Lola, but this is pretty big!"

"It is petty big, but we'll figure it out…" Dean said from the doorway, "Because Josh means the world to us." He said as he walked in slowly, leaning down on the back of Lola's chair. He draped his arms around her shoulders from behind lazily, placing a soft kiss a top of her head,

"Exactly." Lola agreed as Sam emerged from the other doorway, his face a deathly pale,

"What's wrong Sam?" Lola asked,

"Uhm…" Sam swallowed, "It's nothing…I just, y'know…forgot how much he tires you out."

Maggie smiled,

"Yeah…he sure does!" She beamed, "You sure you're alright Sam?"

"Yep."

"Okay well…I've been driving all day so I'm exhausted." Lola yawned as she stood up, "I'll see you all in the morning."

"Goodnight Lola." Maggie called,

"Night." Sam added. Dean leant forwards, kissing her softly,

"I'll be up a little while, okay?"

She nodded,

"No hurry."

Dean slumped into his wife's seat and looked at Sam sceptically,

"I'm really worried…if he goes back to school in September and does this, he's going to scare a lot of people. People are going to want to hurt him, Sam!" Maggie exclaimed, her voice cracking, "What if they take him away from me? He's all I've got left…"

"Hey…" Sam soothed, crouching down beside her, "No one's going to take Josh away…it'll be okay…Dean and I will take him out and have a really fun, great day with him tomorrow and we'll talk him through it and…it'll be fine. Don't worry about it."

Maggie nodded slowly,

"Okay…" Maggie sighed, though she didn't quite believe it.

"Hey Josh…" Dean smiled as he ambled up to Josh in the back yard as he sat in his sandbox, building a long thin wall across the centre of the pit,

"Uncle Dean!" Josh smiled, "Come help me build a fort!"

Dean tugged on his jeans legs and crouched down beside his nephew, gently stroking the hair back off of his face,

"A fort, huh?"

"Yeah…it's going to be my army base."

"Army base, eh?" Dean smirked, "For all your plastic soldiers?"

"No."

"What army then?"

"The yellow-eyed man's army."

Dean froze before licking his lips,

"You know…" He began, "The yellow-eyed man isn't your friend." Dean said which caused Josh to stop in his digging. He turned and looked up at Dean,

"Yes he is."

"He isn't, Josh…he's not a very nice man and your mommy and your uncle Sam and me, we don't want you to be around people who aren't very nice. Wouldn't you rather be around people that love you?"

"Yes."

"Well there you go then…so how's about you me and your uncle Sam go to the zoo today, yeah?"

"Yeah!"

"Just promise me one thing."

"What?"

"The next time you see the yellow-eyed man, you tell me or Sam, okay?"

"Okay!"

"Great. Let's go!" Dean said as he bounced into a stand, reaching down his hand to help Josh up to his feet,

"Uncle Dean…" Josh began slowly, "Why don't you and aunty Lola have any children?"

Dean cleared his throat,

"Some people, like your mom, have babies very easily and others, take a little longer."

"Aunty Lola's like my mom, huh?"

Dean frowned,

"No Joshua."

"Oh…but she had a baby."

"What? No she didn't, Joshua."

"Aunty Lola had a baby. She didn't tell you about her though and she went to a clinic. You thought she went to see her brother, but really she was in New York. Uncle Dean…where's New York?" Josh asked, cocking his head to the side. Dean failed to answer, his face drained of all it's colour as he stared at the ground numbly. He looked at Josh, who was staring at him inquisitively, "Uncle Dean?" He asked with a blink, "Why didn't she tell you?"

"I…I don't know Josh." Dean mumbled, looking back at the house.

Maggie laughed as she took a round blue plate from Lola's hands, laden with suds,

"Totally…" She agreed, drying the plate with the white tea towel she held as Joshua came running into the kitchen through the back door. Sam looked up from his seat at the kitchen table where he was sipping at a mug of coffee,

"Mommy!" He exclaimed, "Come play with me!" He said, tugging on her jeans leg. Maggie looked down at him and frowned, brushing his brown hair out of his eyes,

"But I thought uncle Dean was playing with you sweetie…" She cooed,

"No…" Joshua sighed heavily, "He's just sitting on the swings with a bottle."

Lola looked up from the sink quickly. She exchanged concerned looks with Sam and Maggie before stepping away from the sink to look out of the window, wiping her wet hands on his tight blue jeans as she did so, though all she could see was Dean's back as he sat slumped in one of Joshua's swings. In her low kitten heels, she clicked towards the backdoor before stepping down the step and into the yard. She picked her way across the grass and walked around him,

"Where'd you get the beer, Dean?" She asked, hands on her hips,

"The car…" Dean slurred as Sam and Maggie stepped into the garden, Maggie telling Joshua firmly to remain in the kitchen as they approached to investigate,

"What was beer doing in the car?"

"It's part of my secret stash!" He blurted before grinning and covering his mouth, "Oh crap…I shouldn't of told you that…" He snickered. Lola's eyes widened as realisation settled in,

"You're drunk."

"What of it?"

"You're drunk in front of a child? Dean…you know you can't drink because of your health!" She snapped, snatching the bottle away from him,

"Yeah…well…I had a revelation." Dean muttered, looking down at his feet,

"Oh yes? What was that then?"

He looked up at her, narrowing his eyes,

"Why didn't you tell me?"  
"Tell you what?" She asked, oblivious,

"The baby."

"…" Lola fell silent, dropping her arms down to her sides, the beer bottle neck still loosely held within her fingers, "How'd you find out?"

"Josh." Dean said seriously, "So why didn't you tell me?"

Lola held up the bottle,

"This is why…or one of the reasons why." She said simply, "You are nowhere near ready to have a child…we can barely look after ourselves…and we're always on the road, hunting and…and what kind of a life is that?"

"It didn't do me any harm."

"LOOK AT YOU DEAN!" Lola yelled, "How could you want this for our child? Ugh…you're ridiculous!"

"Lola…" Sam soothed, approaching and placing his hands gently on her arms, "What's going on?"  
"Stay out of this, Sam!" Dean snapped, "For once this isn't about you."

"Dean!" Lola snapped, "God you're exactly the same when you've had a drink. You're a nasty piece of work!"

"No…marriage did that to me."

"Ha!" Lola snorted, "You're a pathetic man, Dean…pathetic…you can't even resist a beer."

"You didn't tell me we had a child and you got rid of it without even asking what I felt…how did you expect me to react?"

All of a sudden Joshua ran out of the house, passed Maggie who was watching on in horror and up to Lola. He tugged on her hand,

"Aunty Lola…it's okay!" He said softly. Lola smiled, crouching down beside him,

"Awh…Josh…thank you sweetheart. You're right…everything is okay…but this is grown-up talk, why don't you go inside and play with your mom?"  
"No…" Josh said with a smile, "I mean…it's okay for uncle Dean to have a drink, he does it all the time!" He beamed, "Like the time he said he went into rehab and he said you weren't allowed to visit…he was actually in Vegas."

"That's impossible…I would've noticed the money…" She was cut off by Joshua,

"He has a credit card you don't know about."

"…does he now…?"

"And all those times that he says he's going to counselling…he's really just going to the bar down town…but it's okay because uncle Sam knows!"

Lola shrugged Sam's hands off and turned on him,

"Please tell me that this is just the wild imagination of a child…or that I'm actually going insane?" She pleaded to her brother-in-law who struggled to look her in the eye,

"Lola…I…" Sam stammered, "I'm sorry…I promised him that I wouldn't tell…"

Lola turned back to Dean, tears welling in her eyes,

"Dean?" She asked, "You've been drinking behind my back?"

"Yeah…" Dean said defiantly, looking away from her,

"So you lied to me?"

"I guess that makes two of us then, huh?"

"You jerk…"She growled, shaking her head as she pulled at her hand, throwing her wedding band at his chest. It bounced off of his grey t-shirt and onto the grass as Lola turned her back and pushed the beer bottle into Sam's chest, "Seven years and I've had enough…" She muttered, stalking back across the garden,

"Lola…I…" Maggie began, but Lola held her hands up in the air to signal that she didn't want to talk about it anymore. Grabbing her jacket from the table and Dean's keys, she disappeared off through the house, slamming the front door behind her as she did, leaving the three siblings and Joshua in silence. Dean bent down and picked up Lola's wedding ring, looking at it curiously as he turned it in his palm,

"Man…I'm such an asshole…" He muttered more to himself than to Sam. Sam covered Joshua's ears, looking at his brother, not really knowing what to say. Joshua pulled free of his tallest uncle and ran so that he was standing in front of him,

"Don't worry uncle Dean…you won't have to live without aunty Lola for too long."

"Thanks kid…" Dean mumbled, not really understanding what his nephew meant. Sam, however, fully understood the six-year-old's meaning,

"Dean…sober up. We seriously have to talk." He said before pulling Joshua up and into his arms, "C'mon Josh. Let's go and have some lunch."


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

A few hours later and Dean was well and truly beginning to come to the realisation that his wife had just left him. Sipping on a mug of coffee in the living room, he was soon joined by Sam,

"Dude…what the hell is going on with Joshua?" Sam asked, "He knew a hell of a lot of stuff…I mean…he knew about you and he knew about me…it was like he was reading our minds!"

"Maybe that's his power." Dean suggested, "He can read our minds…"

"Well that's dangerous, Dean! It's dangerous for him as well as everyone around him!"

"What can we do? He's six! It's not like he's going to be able to control it, is it? He's too young to understand the moral problems and y'know…he's a kid! How are we supposed to explain to him this…?"

"This is bad, Dean…" Sam breathed, "He must've known that was going to upset Lola and you…"

"How could he? He's a kid! He's just naturally curious and talking about what he knows!"

"But what else does he know?" Sam asked sceptically,

"More to the point…why's it happening now? Your powers and all the other psychics…they didn't start manifesting until you were twenty-three!"

"I know." Sam agreed, "Perhaps whatever demon it is that's done this to Josh, is a little more impatient than the one we killed…" He suggested, "Maybe he learnt from the mistake of waiting so long…the younger, the easier they are to control and are more impulsive…and let's face it, with Matt dead, there's only Maggie to hold him back."  
"You're wrong." Dean said, "There's us. I'm not going to let anything happen to him. No one is going to take Joshua away and use him as some kind of pawn!"

"What…like I was, you mean?"  
"Sammy…" Dean sighed, "that's over now for you…can we focus on Josh?"  
"Well what do you propose we do, Dean?" Sam fumed, "There's no way we can stop this…and I don't know how we're going to be able to control…" He trailed off, his eyes sliding sideways as he became aware of another presence in the room. He turned his head to see Joshua standing beside the sofa, watching them with a small smile spread across his lips, "Hey Josh…" He smiled nervously, "What're you up to?"

"Uncle Sam…" Josh began carefully. Sam was about to stop him revealing anyone else's secrets, but it was too late. Joshua jumped back onto the coffee table out of reach and grinned, "uncle Dean was happy when Jess died because then things went back to being like the old days when he was in control."

Sam sat, in shock as the six-year-old hopped off of the table and out of the room, leaving his two uncles to ponder on his words,

"Dean…" Sam began slowly, the anger rising within him as he took a deep and calming breath,

"Sammy…I…"

"Don't Dean." Sam snapped, pushing himself to his feet, "If that's the way you feel then I'm surprised you can bother putting up with Charlotte! I mean…surely you want her to die too!"

"It's not like that!" Dean defended,

"And why should I believe you? You're a liar Dean…you lied to your wife and you got me to help you! So why the hell should I believe you…especially when Joshua's proved to be a highly reliable source of information,

"I meant that I didn't want Jess to die." Dean growled, "What I meant was that I was happy to have you back on the road with me. Jess' death enabled that to happen…I WASN'T happy that she died."

Sam stood, shaking his head,

"Whatever Dean…I don't believe a word that comes out of your mouth anymore…" He muttered, sulking back into the chair, turning the volume up on the TV.

"Lola you guys can get through this, you always do…" Maggie paced up and down the marble floor of the kitchen, holding a silver cordless phone to her ear. "I know but…look I really need you here, he's said some more things to Dean and Sam…"

Just at that moment Maggie felt Josh tug at the hem of her black tank top, "Mommy I need to talk to you." He said sweetly.

"I'm going to have to call you back, just think about it okay." She added before hanging up the phone and setting it down on the counter.

"What's the matter sweetie?" Maggie asked slightly apprehensive of what her son was going to say.

"Are you still mad at Uncle Sam?

"Why would I be mad at him?" She asked, bending down to Josh's eye level.

"Because he didn't think you could look after me when Daddy died."

Maggie's face fell, taken aback by the revelation, "I'm sure he didn't mean it like that honey."

"He did, he thought that you would fall into a break down and end up in hospital." Joshua continued adamantly.

Maggie licked her lips in disbelief as she rose to her feet, stroking Joshua's hair before moving out of the kitchen to the living room where Dean and Sam were still sat in tense silence.

Maggie stormed into the room, picking up the collection of Joshua's toys and books that littered the floor. Sam noticed his sisters red face, angry and flustered, "Hey are you okay?" He asked, sitting up in his chair.

"Yep I'm fine." She quickly answered, not able to look her brother in the eye.

"You want a hand?" Sam offered.

"No thank you, I've managed six months on my own I think I can cope with clearing away a few toys." Maggie snapped.

"Have I said something to upset you ?" He asked with a frown looking at Dean who was just as puzzled by his sister's behaviour as Sam was. Maggie kept her eyes to the floor darting around the room in a rush of anger, "Maggie!" Sam grabbed his sister's arm, tired of being ignored.

"What!" She yelled, yanking her arm out of his grasp, Sam stood in shock, his eyebrows raised.

"Okay…" Sam breathed, "Maybe I should just pop out for awhile?"

"Yes. I think that would be a good idea." Maggie replied icily, crossing her arms over her chest. Sam looked down at Dean who shifted awkwardly beneath his brothers gaze. With a pout and a huff, Sam stormed off out of the living room and down the hallway to the front door.

Maggie slouched down beside Dean with a heavy sigh. Joshua was humming away to himself on the other side of the room beneath the open window, building a few small buildings out of multi-coloured bricks. Dean tapped his fingers together awkwardly before glancing at his watch,

"I'm going to call Lola…"

"Dean…" Maggie began as Dean rose from his seat. The eldest sibling turned and was taken aback to see her head ducked, but tears clearly visible as they slid down her cheeks, dripping onto her jean-clad knees, "Do you…" She paused, "Do you think I'm a bad mom?"

Dean frowned, dropping back down into his seat,

"No, of course not." Dean said seriously, "If I'm half as good as you are, my kids might actually survive having me as a father."

"When Matt died…did you guys really think I was going to have a breakdown?"

"To be honest, Maggie," Dean began carefully, "I was a little tied up with my own problems. All I knew is that you wouldn't talk to me and Lola turned her back on you because she had to look after me. I really screwed up back then and I guess I should've been there for you…but instead I was wallowing in self-pity."

Maggie wiped at her eyes,

"You've come a long way in the last couple of years, Dean."

Dean shrugged,

"My honest opinion, Maggie? I think you're a great mom. Really. And we're going to get through this."

Unbeknown to the two adults, Joshua had grown weary of his building blocks and as the pair chatted away, the six-year-old padded his way across the living room and through the house towards the front door. Standing on his tip toes, he pulled open the front door and staggered uneasily down the wooden steps into the front yard, thunder rippling across the sky.

Maggie smiled weakly, flopping backwards onto the couch,

"I suppose I'd better get on and give Josh his bath and put him to bed. It's getting late." Maggie breathed, closing her eyes soothingly, "Lola's at a hotel. Don't worry…she'll come around."

"I wouldn't blame her if she didn't." Dean admitted, "Do you need any help with Josh? It's not like I've got a hell of a lot else to do."

Maggie pushed herself up with a sudden burst of energy,

"You could read him his story tonight?" She suggested, looking around the room, confused, "Josh?" She called out, "Joshua!" She called, "I'm going to give you to the count of three Joshua! One…Two…" She called out sternly, though her expression softened, "Three?" She spoke quieter, unsure of herself now as she darted into the kitchen, in search of her son. Dean wandered out into the hallway, and seeing the front door open, he moved towards it quickly to shut it, slipping slightly on the puddle caused by the rain on the wooden flooring. As he was shutting the door, he noticed Joshua's tiny form making it's way across the front lawn through the rain. He stepped out onto the porch, shielding his face slightly as the rain was blown in his direction,

"Josh!" He called out. His nephew seemingly didn't hear him as he continued to wander towards the street. Dean looked up to see a large, dark car turn into the road, moving quickly in the low visibility. Jumping down the steps, Dean ran through the yard as Joshua stepped out into the road in front of the car,

"JOSH!" Maggie cried as she appeared in the doorway in time to see the car speeding towards her son. Dean darted out into the road, scooping up his nephew before throwing himself onto the other side of the road, landing on his side with a breathless grunt. Maggie ran towards them, pulling Joshua off of his uncle and into her arms, "What were you doing…?" She sobbed, cradling him close to her, "You stupid little boy! You could've been killed!" She scolded, "Thank God…" She breathed, looking down at Dean, water plastering his t-shirt to his skin, droplets snaking their way down his face as he looked up at his sister and her son breathlessly, "Thank you Dean…" She whispered, "What were you thinking?!" She scolded Joshua,

"The yellow-eyed man told me to do it…" He whimpered,

"There is no yellow-eyed man." Dean said, "He's dead."

"No he's not. He's right there." Joshua said, pointing off over Maggie's shoulder. Dean and Maggie looked, but there was no one standing there,

"Get inside." Dean said seriously, "Now."

Early the next morning, Dean sat slumped on the wooden steps of Maggie's front porch, a large, beige, porcelain mug of black coffee at his side. He failed to register the low rumble of a familiar engine as he stared glumly at his hand, the white-gold ring still firmly on his finger. It wasn't until a scraping footstep on the garden path that he looked up to see Lola standing over him, a hand firmly on one of her hips,

"Hey…" She mumbled, "Can I sit with you?"

Dean shuffled sideways slightly, lifting his coffee cup up and placing it on his knee so that she could sit in it's place. She sat down beside him and yawned loudly, intertwining her fingers together,

"What's up?" He asked casually, his eyes fixed on the ground in front of them,

"I'm bringing your car back." She said, holding out his keys, "I figured you'd miss her."

"I missed you more." He said honestly, "I couldn't sleep last night."

"Me either." She admitted quietly, "Lumpy hotel bed." She joked, "So how're things going in there?"

"Well…Sam's not talking to me…Maggie's not talking to Sam. Seems like Josh is the only one everyone's talking to."

"What is going on…?" Lola asked, scowling,

"Josh keeps letting everyone's skeletons out of the closet…as you full well know."

"Dean…" Lola began, turning to look at him, "I'm sorry. I'm sorry about throwing my ring at you and walking out like I did. I had no right to be so furious…I mean…I'm upset, sure…but worse things have happened." She sighed, "And I'm sorry about the baby."

"Well I'm sorry I lied." Dean said seriously,

"I don't know what came over me! It was like…an uncontrollable rage! And then…last night in the hotel…I suddenly realised, I didn't know why I was so angry. And then I realised, it was only in this house that made me so angry…or maybe it's just being around Joshua."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean…" She paused, licking her lips, "Maybe part of Josh's power is his ability to get under your skin and hype up your anger."

"Hm." Dean mused, "That would make a lot of sense."

"So promise me that no matter what he says, you don't let him see you angry or upset, no matter what its about. Wait until he's out of sight and sound before you show emotion. Whoever's controlling him is obviously trying to get to us through our emotions."

"Sounds like a plan."  
"Right…well I'm going back to bed…that is…if it's okay with you…that I stay here?"

"Of course it is." Dean said with a frown, "I mean…unless you're going to throw any thing else at me." He joked. Lola smirked,

"Can I have my ring back…please?" She asked sweetly, holding out her palm. He reached into his pocket and placed it down in her hand, "Thanks Dean."  
He leant forwards and placed a kiss on her forehead,

"I'm glad you came back."

"I always do." She grinned, throwing her arms around his neck so that she hugged him tightly.

"Hey Josh!"

Joshua looked up quickly from his colouring on the coffee table to see Lola enter the living room, Dean close behind,

"Aunty Lola…" He said carefully, "You're back." He observed. Lola smiled and nodded as she leant over the back of the sofa, leaning her face down beside Sam who was sitting, watching the boy while Maggie was upstairs,

"Sure am." She smiled, "Did you miss me?"  
He looked at her cautiously before feigning a smile,

"Yeah!"

"Awesome."

"Why did you come back?" He asked coyly,

"I missed my favourite nephew that's why." She smiled, Joshua looked back at his aunt dead in the eyes, and the two held this stand off for a good minute, it was as if Lola was trying to see into Josh, trying to find out what was going on inside that innocent mind. Sam looked on with a frown, slightly un nerved by the tense silence.

"Where did you go anyway?" He asked, finally breaking the silence,

"I went and stayed in a hotel…" She smiled,

"Don't you like uncle Dean anymore?" Joshua asked innocently,

"Of course I do." She beamed, "I love your uncle Dean." She said sincerely, "I just need to do something so I went away for a night, but I'm back now…so you and I can have a nice long chat."

"Did you know uncle Dean takes off his wedding ring when he goes away on hunts?"

Lola shrugged, walking around the couch so that she stood over him,

"So do I." She said seriously,

"Well…" Joshua began, slightly taken aback, "Well he thinks uncle Sam's girlfriend is hot."

"Well she's a very pretty girl…" Lola admitted. Sam turned to glare accusingly at Dean who held his hands up defensively. The younger of the two rolled his eyes at his brother before turning back to Josh and Lola,

"Well my mommy thought you getting married was a mistake!"

"Now Josh…" Lola warned, "Now you're just making things up. Lying is naughty!" She scolded, "I know for a fact that your mother didn't think that because she was the one pushing me to say yes."

"Well uncle Sam thought it to!"  
"What?!" Sam exclaimed, "Josh! I did not!"  
"I think it's time you had a nap, Josh." Lola said, leaning down and taking Joshua's arm, leading him out of the room, "Your mom will be having words with you later." She scolded. Josh pulled his arm free,

"Uncle Dean should never of brought you back!" He spat angrily before running off out of the room, leaving the three adults behind in shock,

"How…how did he come up with those lies about me and Maggie? He's only six. I never thought that and neither did Maggie, so he didn't read our minds."  
"No. He read mine." Lola said quietly, "I always worried that you and Maggie thought I wasn't worth the time." She admitted, "But it seems to me like he's almost clutching at straws to push us apart…which is good because he's losing his foot hold." She said sternly, though seeing Sam's furrowed brow, Lola swallowed hard and continued, "I love Josh, but he's obviously not himself. He's being controlled and we've got to give as good as we get if we're going to stand a chance against him. Right?"

Sam sighed and nodded half-heartedly,

"Yeah…I guess…"

"When I find out who's behind this…" Dean began quietly, balling his fists, "I'll kill that son of a bitch!"


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five

A silver moon shone through the chocolate brown curtains in the living room, the light from the TV screen flickered light on Dean's sleepy face, "I'm ready to turn in." He said rubbing his tired eyes with a yawn.

"Me too." Lola replied, lifting her head from Dean's shoulder, stretching out her arms above her head. She looked over at Sam who was slumped in the chair next to them in a deep sleep."

"Shall I wake him up." She whispered, nudging Dean to look over at his brother.

"No one night on the couch wont hurt." He replied quietly, rising to his feet and walking round to the stairway, Lola following behind.

Dean paused in the doorway to Joshua's room, smiling down at his wife as he lazily draped an arm around her shoulders,

"It's hard to believe that he's trying to break us all up." He said with a sigh. Lola nodded in agreement,

"We'll figure it out, Dean." She said, reaching up and giving the hand that dangled by his shoulder a quick and gentle squeeze. He placed a kiss on her temple,

"Yeah. We will."

"C'mon…if we loiter here much longer we might end up falling asleep in Josh's doorway." She joked, tugging on his hand and leading him off down to their room.

Dean's eyes flashed open, staring up at the pitch black ceiling. Even though it was the midst of summer, there was a slight chill in the air. He sat up, letting the duvet pool at his hips as he ran his hands soothingly over his hair. As he raised his head, glancing up across the room, he jumped at the sight of a small shadow watching over him,

"Josh…" He breathed, "What're you doing in here?"

"Uncle Dean…" Joshua whispered, "He's here. The yellow-eyed-man's in my room."

Dean's face fell. He gripped the duvet tightly and whipped it off of his body, careful not to wake Lola up as he did so,

"Stay here." He told Joshua softly, placing his hands lightly on the boy's shoulders. Joshua nodded and climbed up into Dean's spot in the bed as Dean opened the bedside draw and took his gun, "Do not leave this room." He said firmly, ruffling Josh's hair before leaving the room quietly.

As he crept down the hall, his gun raised in front of him as he turned into Joshua's room, scanning it in the darkness for the demon. After several seconds of standing there, he relaxed, flicking on the light switch to discover the room completely empty. As he moved across towards the closet, sliding the door open to check, though he knew it was unlikely,

"Relax Dean…he's not Michael Myers…" He muttered to himself as there was a small, high-pitched squeal from down the hall, "JOSH!" He cried, running back across the room and down the hall. He snapped the light switch on as he burst into his room. Standing over the bed was Tristan, he had Joshua tucked neatly beneath one arm with the other out-stretched, holding Lola against the bedroom wall by the throat, "I see you're still hanging around in that body…" Dean remarked, "Let them go."

"I don't think so, Dean." Tristan spat,

"I said," Dean began, "Let them go."

"And why should I? What exactly do you propose you're going to do to stop me?" He asked, tightening his grip on Lola's neck, choking her tightly,

"You son of a bitch…" Dean muttered, raising his gun and firing a bullet directly through the demon's forehead, the shot echoing throughout the house. Joshua screamed at the loud noise, though Dean was horrified as the bullet wound failed to achieve the desired effect. The darkened hole simply closed itself up, leaving the demon still standing perfectly still, a sickening smirk gracing his lips,

"Well if I ever do decided to leave this body," He began with a smirk, "that'll be the end of your lovely wife's dear old friend."

"You bastard…" Dean ground out, shaking his head. Maggie appeared in the doorway,

"JOSH!" She screamed, rushing forwards to snatch her son out of the demon's grasp. The demon dropped Lola to the floor in favour of pinning Maggie back with a wave of his hand. Maggie barrelled backwards into Sam who had just arrived from downstairs, the gun shot having both woken them up. The two siblings ended up slumped on the floor in the hallway behind Dean. The three watched in horror as the demon tightened his arms around Joshua and became engulfed in flames, "NO!" Maggie screamed, clawing her way forwards to her feet, rushing towards the column of flame where the demon and Joshua had been standing. She shielded her eyes as the flames spread to the curtains, moving quickly up the heavy drapes towards the ceiling. The demon had disappeared in the mayhem as the fire spread across the room at a frighteningly fast pace,

"Dean…we've gotta get out of here." Sam told his brother,

"Right." Dean agreed, "Help Lola up, I'll get Maggie." He said, moving to grab Maggie's arms. She was standing in the middle of the room, tears running down her cheeks, sobbing and calling out for Joshua. Dean gently pulled her back but she screamed for him to leave her alone, swiping at his face, pushing him back and away from her. Dean tucked his gun into the back of his belt and grabbed Maggie roughly, using all of this strength to drag her out of the room and along the hall towards the stairs,

"NO!" Maggie growled, flailing her limbs around to fight against her brother, "What about Josh?!" She sobbed, beating against Dean's chest with her fists. As the foursome reached the stair case, there was a loud bang as flame exploded from the spare room, lapping at the walls. Dean finally grew tired of pulling Maggie along and scooping her up, he laid her over his shoulder, following Sam and Lola down the stairs and out onto the front lawn. The four of them collapsed into a heap in the cold, dark grass. Maggie broke free of Dean's grasp and jumped up, making a dash for the house but Sam soon followed, grabbing her around the waist from behind, "LET ME GO SAM!" She screamed, fighting against him,

"He's gone, Maggie…" Sam said softly, "I'm sorry…but…he's not in there…it would be suicide."

"JOSH!" Maggie cried, falling limp in Sam's arms, flopping against his chest, sobbing loudly into his blue shirt. Lola sat on the grass, still coughing and wheezing for breath as she watched her best friend fall apart in her brother's arms. She looked over at Dean sadly who was breathing heavily,

"I let him get away…I let him take Josh…" He muttered, staring angrily at the ground, "This is my fault."

"Don't say that! Lola scolded, "There's nothing you could've done Dean…we'll find him."

Dean looked over at her and gave her a nod before pushing himself up to his feet and walking over to his siblings,

"Maggie I'm sorry…" He mumbled, enveloping her in a hug, "I really am…"

Ten years later…

Dropping onto the bed with a groan, Maggie draped her arm across her eyes to block out the bright early morning sunlight. Kicking off her shoes, she relished the feel of the cool carpet beneath her toes, a soothing feeling after the long nine-hour shift at the hospital. With a slight grunt, she began to drift off, still wearing the purple scrubs she'd spent all night in, her head lulling on the pillow as she rolled onto her side, curling against the toned body beside her. The peace was short lived as only a few minutes later, the door bell rang. With a groan, Maggie swiped at her partner's arm,

"Ryan…" She mumbled into the pillow, "Ryan…there's someone at the door…" She continued, but to no avail. The man beside her let out a soft snore in reply, his eyes remaining firmly closed. Rolling his eyes, Maggie pulled herself up out of the bed and stalked out of the room, grumbling as she went, "Don't worry dear…" She muttered, "I'll get it…I mean…I've only just come off of a nine hour shift, but hey! It's okay. I don't need to sleep…" She continued to gripe to herself as she stomped down the stairs, "It's probably only the postman…it's probably not even for me…" She sighed, rubbing at her eyes as she shuffled across the wooden flooring from the staircase to the front door, pulling the heavy wooden door open to find someone who definitely wasn't the postman,

"Hello mom."

"Josh'…" Maggie whispered, dumbfounded.


End file.
